Denver over Jacksonville may have been the clear-cut choice of many knockout pool players, but count me as one Jets fan who could see Sunday’s exasperating 19-6 home loss to Pittsburgh coming from a mile away.

For all that went wrong, some of Smith’s problems were the fault of the coaching staff. Rex Ryan and Marty Mornhinweg called a conservative game, so much so that they hamstrung the rookie from what he does best.

He’s only been here for five games, but new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is already proving to be nothing like his predecessors. He’s creative. He’s aggressive. He loves to throw the ball. He believes in balance.

“We really don’t care what people that don’t believe in us say,” Ryan declared during a conference call Tuesday. “We care about what our fans think. We care about what our locker room knows to be the truth.”